The Magic of Music
by Henry Vyne
Summary: Merlin stumbles across Arthur playing the piano in the night.
1. Chapter 1

**Forgive me inventing the piano a couple hundred of years before it was actually invented. :/ Oh well, we'll recover. I don't own Merlin. Please drop a review below and tell me what you thought of it!**

**1,303 words, not including my author's note.**

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Merlin stormed down the halls of the castle in a furious rage. Arthur could just be so incredibly aggravating and dense sometimes. He was nothing more than a pompous, arrogant, king anyways. And a very stupid one at that. Sometimes Merlin forgot why he cared so much about Arthur. Then he would remember that it's because of what's there under all of those layers of toughness and petty insults. Merlin never lost sight to how good of a person that Arthur was, and Merlin never hesitated in his decision to stand by his side and guide him as best he could. But that didn't mean that Arthur couldn't be the most annoying person on the face of the planet. Well, that _might _be taking it a bit too far. But then again...

It was well past dusk while Merlin was sulking about in the halls, making his way to his chambers. When he reached his destination, he quietly tip-toed into his room, taking caution as to not wake Gaius, and brought his magic book and his cape out with him. Once he was out of the quarters and at the top of the stairway, he fastened his cloak around his shoulders and his book under the thin fabric that was now draped over him.

He sneaked his way out of the castle and well into the woods. When he was sure that he had gone far enough and that no one was around to see him, he took his hood off and climbed a tree. When he found a comfortable nook to sit it, he leaned back against a tree branch and opened his book. He stayed there near an hour, practicing spells and incantations. It was his way to vent and let go of his emotions. It was the most effective thing that calmed him down. He decided that it would be best to head back home, despite his urge to stay there all night, so he reluctantly climbed down from the tree and walked back to the castle.

When he was roaming about the large, empty halls, he realized again how beautiful Camelot and its castle was. He'd always underestimated it's magnificence and had never really taken the time to appreciate it before. That is with the exception of times like he was experiencing right then. Times when he could just let his mind wander off with his body and not have to worry about anything.

Merlin drifted about the castle for about a quarter of an hour before he heard something that made him pause. Was that...a piano? Merlin had only heard it a few times when there was a concert or special banquet, but each time that he did hear it he adored it. He wanted to to play it, but there was no way that he would be allowed to use it. And he didn't know how to anyway. So instead, he would just relish in the sounds that came from the instrument with newly awoken passion and admire the player's swift hands and fingers.

Merlin followed the sound of the piano as it grew louder the closer he became to it, but still just as soft and gentle. Merlin wondered who would be playing it at that time of night. Whoever it was was very skilled. Merlin had never heard it played so beautifully.

Merlin reached the music room where the playing was coming from and peeked his head around the wide open doors to see who was playing. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a tall and broad figure with a familiar head of thick blonde hair seated on the bench in front of the piano. He watched as Arthur's hands gracefully danced across the keys, causing wonderful sounds to emanate from the grand piano.

As he watched Arthur smile as the tempo of the song increased and then became calm and subtle again, Merlin couldn't help but do the same. He had never seen Arthur look so relaxed and...happy before. He was just so happy.

So this is what Arthur does. When Merlin is angry or sad, or even happy, he uses his magic to express it and calm himself down. He uses it to vent his emotions and, depending on the person, almost like a way of communication. When he's done, he'll feel so...complete. It's like he's been a puzzle missing only one piece. When he let's it all out, the puzzled will be finished. When his emotions and thoughts start to build again, that last piece of his puzzle fades away until it disintegrates into nothing. Arthur's the same, only he uses his music instead of magic.

Merlin pondered if there was even a difference between music and magic. They both were so beautiful and could be so calm. But in an instant it could all change. Everything could get turned around and start to get violent or wistful or mournful or any other emotion you can think of.

Merlin still couldn't wrap his mind fully around that thought. That Arthur uses his music. _Music. Arthur's _music. He found it hard to entirely believe that Arthur was the one making such wonderful sounds come from the piano. It was the most beautiful thing that he had ever heard. When he listened to it, it spread an indescribably feeling of calmness and bliss over him. It was as if none of his troubles and worries weren't there anymore. Like they vanished into nothingness and left only the two men and the peacefulness of Arthur's tune echoing through the castle.

He stood there for hours, never falling into boredom or becoming tired. He just stood there and let himself become enraptured in the music as he watched Arthur swiftly and delicately sweep his hands along the keys, playing a never ending melody of bliss and memories. Those moments, those rare minutes of peace and calm that Merlin had, were perfect.

They stayed up til dawn, listening to and playing the piano, until a rooster's crow woke them both from the time that they'd wished would never end. Arthur continued to play for a couple of more minutes, before Merlin heard him close the lid over the keys and walk over to the doors. Merlin quickly darted away from the doors while straightening his clothes out, trying his best to make it look as if he hadn't spent the whole night standing up.

When he saw Arthur exit, he did his best to pretend everything was normal, but he didn't think that he fully concealed the look of esteem partially hidden in his eyes as he walked towards him.

"Merlin," Arthur called when he saw his servant.

"Sire,"

"I wanted to apologize, for what I said the other day. I'm sorry."

Merlin was taken aback my this statement. Arthur should play the piano more often! "I'm sorry, too. Your were right. I was overreacting."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with you on that one." Arthur said with a scoff. He smiled brightly and ruffled Merlin's hair. "You look like you've been up half the night. What were you doing?"

"I could say the same about you." Merlin retorted snarkily, but still playfully.

"Watch it. I'm still your king." He said while walking away.

The two men then went about their normal routines, but Merlin spent most of his day staring at Arthur. He seemed much happier and brighter that day, especially for not having gotten any sleep that night, and he just seemed to glow and radiate with joy. Merlin recalled days when Arthur had been in an uncharacteristically cheerful mood and had given a good nights sleep the credit for it. Now he he knew why Arthur was like this. It was because of the magic of music.

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**I have an idea for what I would do with a second chapter. Would you read it if I wrote it?**


	2. Chapter 2

**The guest reviewer guessed my idea for the second chapter. Congratulations, Guest! Thanks to all who added this story to their favourites and alerts list, and thanks especially to those who left a review. It's inspired me to write this chapter. By the way, the song that I have Arthur playing in this is Scarborough Fair by Claude Debussy. I can't explain the magnificence of just the song, much less the magnificence of it while Arthur's playing it, so please do listen to it.** **Here's the title of it on YouTube. **

**Relaxing Piano Music Consort - Scarborough Fair**

**Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't have any rights whatsoever to Scarborough Fair or Merlin. Or Arthur...or Gwaine or Lancelot.)':**

**Words Count: 1,533**

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It had been nearly two weeks since the night that Merlin had encountered Arthur and learnt of his secret passion. Since then, Merlin gone inside the music room every night and hid behind the window drapes, waiting for Arthur to come in. He never did though, leaving Merlin bitterly disappointed every time. This night though, Merlin felt sure that Arthur would come in. It had been a particularly trying day, and it made sense that Arthur would play to relieve himself of the stress that weighed down heavily upon him. 

In fact, Merlin was on his way to the music room right then to await the hopefully coming Arthur. He had become too caught up in his thinking though, and passed it by a few corridors. He silently cursed when he realized his mistake and backtracked until the hall where the music room was was just around the corner. He was about to turn around that corner when he stopped abruptly at the sound of footsteps. He peeked forward cautiously and saw Arthur opening the doors the music room. Merlin couldn't suppress the grin that spread across his face when he saw that he was right. 

Thankfully, Arthur had left the doors open again, so Merlin stood next to them and then slid down against the wall while adjusting his head so that he could see Arthur and the piano through the large cracks of the even larger doors. When the music started playing it spread an even better feeling through Merlin than it had the night before that was impossible to describe in full accuracy. It made his entire body feel numb and heavy, like his soul was being disconnected from it and floating about in the air with the echoes of the almost, _almost, _haunting tune. 

Merlin watched Arthur dance his fingers around the piano in what could be called nothing less than awe and admiration. Not a whole two minutes had passed when Merlin leaned closer to the door in an attempt to see Arthur more clearly, but in doing so pushed the door causing it to creak loudly. Merlin froze in sheer panic and dread at the thought of being discovered as Arthur's flowing music abruptly came to a stop. 

"Who's there?" Arthur called. 

Merlin slowly stood up and started to walk away as quickly as could while still being silent, but somehow slipped and fell backwards, pushing the door closed even further along the way. At this point Arthur had stood up and was walking towards the commotion. Merlin hurriedly stood up again and made a move to dart away, but as he started to jolt off a strong hand firmly grasped the back of his shirt. It appears that Arthur was closer than he thought. 

"What are you doing here?" Arthur inquired, still holding tightly onto Merlin's shirt and standing closely behind him. 

"I was...I just...I," Merlin's mind was completely blank of a suitable excuse. 

Arthur let go of Merlin's shirt with an exasperated sigh. "We should both get to bed. Tomorrow's a busy day." He turned and started to walk away. 

"No, wait!" Merlin turned quickly and grabbed Arthur's arm before he had the chance to walk away completely. 

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked while looking between Merlin's hold on his arm and his friend that was standing before him. 

"Please keep playing." 

Arthur gazed at Merlin, looking honestly perplexed and baffled at Merlin's statement, as if he didn't even begin to comprehend the power that his music held over its listeners. 

"Please." Merlin repeated. He didn't know why it was so important to him, but he couldn't bear the thought of just ending the night there after such a brief experience of wonder and bliss. 

"Go to bed, Merlin." Arthur said while removing Merlin's hand from his forearm. He turned to walk away again, but stopped again when Merlin spoke. 

"Why won't you stay?" 

Arthur stopped walking but didn't turn around. "You wouldn't understand." 

"Try me." 

Arthur was really starting to get agitated by his persistence. "It's stupid. You don't want to know." He replied with a wave of his hand. 

"Yes, I do." Merlin said while walking towards him. 

Arthur turned fully around and studied Merlin carefully, as if he was something truly mysterious and incomprehensible from a completely other world. He walked closer to him until they were just barely apart and after a few seconds hesitation, Arthur began his explanation. "People say that my mother used to play the piano beautifully. I first heard this when I was just a boy, and I secretly taught myself to play soon afterwards. I felt...I felt like when I played, she could hear me. I used to imagine her somewhere else, someplace nice, playing along with me." Arthur broke eye contact with Merlin and smiled as his face and entire demeanor seemed to soften with those memories. He broke away from his reverie after a few seconds and looked back to Merlin. "I've never shown or told anyone of this before." 

Merlin looked at Arthur in astonishment and a new sense of understanding as tears began to prickle and sting his eyes. So his music _was_ a way of communication after all. That's why it was so heartfelt, so true and pure. It was a language he used to speak with his mother.

"I told you it was stupid." Excused Arthur as he looked down in embarrassment and started to walk away again. 

"No, it's not." Merlin said as a single tear silently slid down his cheek. "It's beautiful." He said with a slight laugh. There was a new bond between Merlin and Arthur now. They had something very large in common. Arthur's music was the equivalent of Merlin's magic. Both powerful and soft, both beautiful and terrifying, both sad and happy, both haunting and comforting. Merlin and Arthur really weren't as different as they had thought. They both had important pieces of themselves locked away deep inside in secret. 

Arthur turned around once more and looked to Merlin, a few tears also cascading down his pale cheeks. "You really think so?" 

Merlin nodded. "Yes." Arthur smiled ever so softly and again closed the distance between himself and his servant. He held is arm out to him and Merlin took it, shaking it for a second before they broke the connection. 

"Come on, then." Arthur said while sniffing and walking back towards the music room. 

"Where are we going?" Merlin said while following. 

"You said you wanted to hear me play." 

"Well yes, but you've never played for anyone but your mother before." 

"I can't think of anyone who I would rather show this to." He said while looking back at Merlin with a smile of pure fondness. Merlin replied with an equally fond smile as they walked into the music room. Arthur seated himself on the bench that was placed in front of the piano and Merlin stood behind him. Arthur began the song that he had started before Merlin had interrupted it, but this time, there was a difference. It was even more passionate than before, which seems nigh impossible. But nonetheless, there was a new fire in it that definitely wasn't there before. It was because Arthur had confided in someone. He had shared his deepest secret and learnt to open up. He knew now even more than he had before, that Merlin would always be there for him, no matter what. It was moments like these that they shared that proved that to him. Their relationship was unbreakable. 

Once the song had ended they stayed in silence together for a few minutes. 

"Thank you." Arthur said. 

"For what? I didn't do anything." 

Arthur laughed quietly at this. "You've done so much. Not just now by helping me to let go and share those memories of my mother. By being there for me every time I've needed you for the past eight years. By never changing and always being so unpredictable. Thank you." 

Merlin stood there in silence as more tears cascaded from his eyes. He was well past the stage of shock. Now there was nothing left but affection. After composing himself and drying his tears, he grinned. "You could return the favour, you know." 

Arthur chuckled softly and turned around to look at Merlin. "I'm not going to suffer through George just so you can spend a whole day in the tavern. Not that your job seems to stop you from doing that anyway." 

Merlin smiled. "No, not that." He walked over and sat on the bench next to Arthur. "Teach me." 

"What?" 

"Teach me how to play."

"Are you sure you brain is capable of learning anything?" Arthur joked as he knocked his knuckles against Merlin's head. 

"I'm serious, Arthur." 

The two stared at each other for a short while before Arthur stood up and walked directly behind Merlin. Merlin centered himself on the bench and let his hands be picked up by Arthur's. Arthur was leaning forward holding Merlin's hands with his arms stretched out on either side of him. He placed Merlin's hands on the keyboard and began teaching him the basic notes.

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**I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks for sticking with me through the duration of this short story.**


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